Concrete mixer



Aug, 14,1928. www@ REUSS CONCRETE MIXER Filed Nov. 2, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l CONCRETE MIXER Filed Nov. 2, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'Y tobe mixed are loaded Vinto the skip 2,2 and Patented ug. 14, 1928..

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ABNOLDREUSS, F OSI-IKOSH, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO LEACH n rf COMPANY, O1?

' OSHKOSI-I, WISCONSIN, A CORPRATIONLOF WISCONSIN.

l CONCRETE MIXER. i

" f ,Application sieri November 2, i927. vseriai no. 230,466.

had to the Vacc'fonipai'iyingdrawings', wherein Fig. lis aside elevational view of aconcrete mixer embodying the invention, a part Vof the mixing drum'andassoci'ated structuie being shown in section Fig. 2 is an end elevational View of the mixer from theloading side; and

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectionalview through a mixing drum and a portion of the associated supporting' and loading mechanism illustrating a modification of the invention'. f

Referring to Figs. 1 Vand 2, there is shown a concrete mixerof the typed'escribed inthe copending application of Elbert C. Leach, Serial No'. 124,860, i'iled July 23, 1926, and assigned to the Leach Company. The mixer comprises a chassis lO'upon which is rotatably mounted a mixing drum 11. The drum is arranged for rotational movement around a substantially horizontal axis'and consists of a main cylindrical central portion and two 'head sections 12, 1 3 enclosing the ytwo ends thereof. Each ofthe two head sections is provided witha central aperture 14 and 15, that on the left fof Fig. lvserving as a loading openinglfor the drum, and that on the ijightas discharge opening. The drum is' arranged to be suitably` rotated by means lofafring gear 16 that is driven from a suitable mechanism carried by the chassis; s s

ln front 'of the loading opening l14 ofthe drum there is mounted on two upright posts 21 of a frame'structure supported on the chassis a loading skip 22 provided'lwith two skip arms 23 pivoted to'journalingrbrackets 24 carried by the posts 21. The dry materials, such as concreteand gravel, that are the skip is then raised by means of a cable 25 arranged to be wound upon winding drums 26 carried by the frame so as to bring the skip into vertical position in .which the material from the skip will slide into the interior of the drum through the loading Vopening 14 thereof. The mixer carries also a water tank 27 from which a measured quantity of water is supplied to the mixing drum through the conduit 2S so that the dry materials and theV water may be thoroughly mixed inthe drum by rotating the saine, as is familiar in the art.

The prior art mixers of the kind under consideration were greatly deicientin that the wet concrete mixed in the drum would splash vthrough the openings 14 and 15 over the neighborhood of the machine, being a source of annoyance to the workers handling lthe machine, requiring repeated cleaning land resulting in consequent loss of time,

and generally cutting down the eiiicieiicy of the mixer. y Y

in accordance with the present invention the deficiencies due to splashing through the openings of the mixing` drum are avoided byvproviding splash shields over the drum openings characterized by a number of novel features greatly increasing the eiiiciency of the machine andsimplifying the operations thereof.

In the drawing there is shown back of the loading opening 14 within the mixing drum a splash shield 31'in the forni of a substantially circular iron plate. The splash shield 31 extends overA substantially the entire loading opening 14, only the upper portion of the shield being cut ofi to permit entrance'of the water conduit 28` into the interior of the drum. As seen in the drawing, the shield 31v is disposed substantiallyin the plane of .the re-entrant end plane, the head 12 being, however, somewhat in4 front thereofso that when particles of wet concrete drip down from "the top portion of the drumthey are thrown toward the interior thereof back of the splashv shield.

According to Athe invention, the splash shield does not rotate with the drum but is stationary and is so supported in the interior of the drum as to prevent rubbing thereof 'against the inside of .the drum during the rotation of the latter.

A channel iron 33 on the upper side of the trame structure has secured thereto a pair'of supporting' bars 34 constituting a horseshoe-like U-shaped member, the two lower ends of the two barsV carrying hinge pins 35 on which are mounted hinges 36 disposed on the upper edge ot thel splash shield. have downward extensions 37 constituting stop bars to prevent the shieldV 31 to swing' forwardly beyond the vertical plane inl which it is shown. ln this way contact b'etween the edges orz any other portions of the shield 31 withn the adjacent portions of the mixing drinn is absolutely excluded, and

l thus friction oi'l the parts during rotationL of the drum elii'ninated.

' shown in the drawing tliereis also provided `an additional stop tor the splash shield, in 'i thet'orm ol a Ufshaped member 38 secured to a channelfiron 39 constituting thel frame ofthe chassis 10,-the upper side ot the ine'm- Y Y ber 38 projectingv` through the loading openving lei-finto the interior of the drum to limit '1 forward movement of the lower edge ot the splash shield 314.V

With the' foregoing arrangement the splash shieldis free to swing around the hinge connection 35 into the interior oi" the mixing drum 1l to permit loading of the rough materials by means 'of the skip 22, and, according to my invention, there is provided an automatic arrangement whereby the lsplash shield is automatically swung in- Vagainst excessive wear by reason of the action ot the push arms 4l, the splash shield carries'at `its `front side two wearing bars 42 so arranged that4 the upper ends of the pushl arms 4l sliallpslide thereoverwhile the latter engage lthe splash shield in opening the same into the interior oi' tlie drum.

lVith the Aforegoing arrangement it is' not necessary to haveseparate control ior theV splash shield, but *the same will' automatiwhenever 'the raw material. is to be 'charged into .the saine, the' splash shield swinging away from the opening whenever the skip 'is lifted', Thus, whenever the skip has-been Y raised Ato the charging positionftlie pushshield awaytroin the loading opening and Vallow a free ilow'of material froli'i the icharging skip into/the drum.

Y 'llie arrangement asv described above has an additional ad- The two supportingfbars 34 In the arrangement vantage by reasonofthe fact thatl during the charging of the dry aggregate the shield is in inclined position towards the center of the drum, as-'shown by dotted lines in Fig. l. By reason of this arrangement the shield will deflect the material which is being carried over-toward the center of the.drum,per mitting .faster charging. Heretofore the eliiciency of the mixers has Vbeen'greatlycut down! because of the fact that as the dry material leaves the charging skip it'is not carriedaway 'last enough trom'the charging opening,

permitted entrance into the drum, thus ,i avoiding blocking of the drum entrance and V securing tast charging without spillingAV or slopping out of the d'rnm'opening.

The arrangement of the 'stop thus reducing the Speed of the Voperation oit'` the machine.. lVith the splash i Y bars is 'also j avery important `for the satisfactory operationI inasmuch as the splashing of the material in the drum during the mixingV period* tends to cause the shield to swingeutwardly. This might cause damage to`` theV machine and wear out 'the drun'andfthesplash shield. The stop bars' avoid such damage.

In Fig. 3 is shown a Inodiication of the invention in which the skip arms23 have al positive connection with the splash shield S'lby means of a link 45,v one end olf which is pivoted toa suitable bracketV 46 onQthe splash'shield and 'the other end of which is pivoted to an arm 47j extending from the skip arms. WithV this arrangement the` p0- sition of the shield 3l is 'at alltimes; determined by the Vposition of' the skip. WFhen the 'skip isi-n downward position, tl'iefshieldl is held overathe loading opening and preventssplashiiig of theinaterialsin the ini terioroty the drum; There'i's Vno, necessity for special stop bars l'iecause'tlie4 position of the splash shield is Adefinitely iXedto the link connection. Y lVhenV .thegskiptlis 4raised V the splash shield 'is'swung inwardly through the arnif47 Vandflinl '45 permitting loading ot the dry aggregate drum.

i'llie invention is not limitedv to the particular details of construction orto the partieular` type of; machine illustrated and det p scribed hereinabove, and many other modi- Vcally open the loading"opening' of the drum iications thereofwill suggestrtlifeinselves to may be applied to driiinsmounted in other Y positionsthan the drum ofthe Ymixer shown A in the drawing, and `itfina'y be used in con-y ]unction with d rui'ns'in which the mixing iS- eiicected by aeontinuous"rotational move-V mentV or only -partialj rotational movement orV intermittent rotational, swinging ino"ve-` ment. 4 It i`s, accordingly, ldesired? that the Y appended claims be given a broadconstruc-V iso i tion commensurate with the scope of the invention within the art.

I claim: 'l i l. AV machine of the class described, a supporting frame, a. mixing-'vessel arranged for movement on said. frame, said vessel having an opening, a splash shield supported in front of said opening to prevent splashing ofthe contents'of the vessel during mixing operations, means for charging the vessel arranged movably between a charging position in which the contents thereof tend to flow into thevessel and a loaded position in which the'contents thereof do not tend to flow into the vessel, and means for causing said splash shield to open the opening of said vessel to permit flow of the charge into said vessel whenever said charging means is brought into the charging position.

2. In a machine of the class described, a suppoi'ting frame, a mixing vessel arranged to move on said frame for mixing the contents thereof, said Vvessel having an opening to the interior thereof, a conduit for guiding the contents of the vessel between the exterior andthe interior thereof, a splash shield supported by said frame over said opening to prevent splashing of the contents thereof during mixing operation, said conduit being movable on said frame between a positionwhere it extends into said 4opening to guide the flow of material therethrough and a position away from said opening, and means for causing said shield to automatically open and close, respectively, said shield opening in response to positioning said conduit in said opening and away therefrom.

8. In a concrete mixer, a supporting frame, a cylindrical mixing drum arranged for rotational movement around a substantially horizontal axis, said drum having an opening atone end thereof, a splash shield supported by said frame in front of said opening, a `conduit for guiding the mixing aggregate through said opening between the interior and exterior of the drum, said conduit being movable on said frame between an operative and inoperative position, and means for causing said shield to open and close, respectively, said shield opening in response to bringing said conduit to the operative and inoperative positions, respectively. V g

4. In a concrete mixer, a supporting frame, a mixing drinn mounted thereon for rotation around a substantially horizontal axis, said drum having an opening at one end thereof, a splash shield mounted within said drum 'in front of said opening, a stationary support for said splash shield, said splash shield being arranged to move inwardly into the interior of said-drum to open said opening, and means for limiting the outward movement of said splash shield to prevent Contact Y thereof with the portions of said druin while obstructing the opening thereof.

5. In a concreto mixer, a supporting frame, a mixing drum mounted on said frame for rotation around a substantially horizontal axis, said drum having a central opening at one end thereof, a splash shield mounted within said drum in front. of said opening, a support extending from said frame for hingedly holding said splash shield within said drum, said splash shield being movable on said support to permit swinging of the lower edge thereof into the interior vof the drum to deflect the contents of the drum to the center thereof, a skip supported on said frame for movement bctween an operative position in which it conimunicates through said opening with the interior of the drum and an inoperative position in which it is disconnected from the interior of the drinn, and a connection between said skip and said splashshield for swinging the latter open in response to bringing the skip to the operative position.

6. In a concrete mixer, a supporting frame, a mixing drum having an opening, a skip supported on said frame in front of said opening, a hoist for hoisting said ship to an operative position in which it communicates with said drinn through said opening and to lower it to an inoperative position out of communication with said drum, a splash shield mounted in front of said opening to prevent splashing of the contents of the drum during the mixing operation, and a connection between thc skip and said splash shield to cause opening and closure thereof in response to hoisting said skip and lowering said skip, respectively. V

7. In a conciete mixer, a supporting frame, a substantially cylindrical drum mounted on said frame for rotation around its axis in substantially horizontal position,

Vsaid drum having a re-eiitrant portion provided with Van opening at one end thereof, a splash shield mounted in front of said opening to remain stationary during the rotation of the drum, said splash shield having a pivotal supporting connection permitting swinging of the lower ends thereof into the interior of the drum to cause deflection of its contents towards the center thereof, and means for stopping outward swinging movement of said splash shield during rotation of said drum to prevent contact between the splash shield and the drum.

8. In. a concrete mixer, a supporting frame, a mixing drum having an opening, a skip supported on said frame in front of said opening, a hoist for hoisting said skip to an operative position in which it com- Vmunicates with said drum through said opening and to lower it to an inoperative position out of communication with said druin, said druin being arranged for rotation about its axis disposed in a substantially horizontal direction, a, .splash shield pivotally mounted on said support in the in 5 teriorfof said druin in front of said opening and arranged to remain stationary with re'- spectto said drum, and a connectionrbetiveen the skip and said-splash shield vto'A cause openingand closure thereof` in response to hoistingl said skip and lowering said skip, respeclively.V l e p Y In testimony whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name'. y A

' Y p ARNOLD REUSS. 

